The man accused of killing his girlfriend in White Mountain appeared in Nome District Court Saturday.
Gilbert Olanna, Jr., 31, was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of his girlfriend, 40-year-old Esther Lincoln.
At about 9:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day, Olanna went to a neighbor to get help for Lincoln, according to charging documents. A health aide responded to the home Olanna and Lincoln shared and “found her on a mattress dead” with bruises to her neck.
When Alaska State Troopers responded, Olanna told them that he’d been drinking heavily in the early morning hours of the new year. When he returned home, he and Lincoln argued.
“In the course of this, Olanna explained, his arm slipped below Lincoln’s chin and around her neck,” the charging documents say, detailing that he held his hands around her neck until she went limp.
Lincoln also sustained head injuries, and Olanna admitted to striking her in the face, the documents say. Olanna admitted to authorities that before he left to get the health aide, he “cleaned and put clothing on her body.”
Olanna is also charged with fourth-degree assault and two counts of tampering with physical evidence. Court records show he has a history of assault, sexual assault and domestic violence.